Women pose naked on their bicycles to photographer Spencer Tunick in Amsterdam

Women pose naked on their bicycles to photographer Spencer Tunick in Amsterdam

They were among 2,000 men and women who participated in a series of four nude group photos in the city in the early hours of the morning as part of the latest project of U.S. photographer Spencer Tunick.

The first and largest composition was in a decidedly prosaic location: a parking garage on the outer ring of the city.

But what the location lacked in romance, it made up for in style. Participants lined the railings of the garage's twin circular towers, creating a pattern of multicolor stripes against the white building and an overcast sky.

"It was very hard to find space in a city meant for such a small amount of people," Tunick said. "I was very lucky to get almost 2,000 to fill a massive car park."

The women on bikes were selected from the larger group and posed with their chins pointed triumphantly upward toward the sky.

"It was very exciting and I didn't even feel shy," said a Dutch woman called Didi, who didn't want to give her last name.

Other compositions included a group of men posing together near the parking garage and a mixed group of men and women on another bridge.

Tunick, from New York City, has become famous for photographing thousands of naked people in public settings worldwide, from London and Vienna to Buenos Aires and Buffalo. He set a record for naked photography with a photo of 18,000 people in the buff in Mexico City last month.

"I get people to shed their inhibitions basically because the people shedding their clothing are interested in contemporary art," Tunick said.

Photos from Sunday's session were to be exhibited at an Amsterdam club Sunday night, and will be reproduced on billboards in the city later in the summer.